CHRIS ROBERTSON Explains Why BLACK STONE CHERRY No Longer Works With Outside Producers

In a recent interview with Chas Byrne, singer/guitarist Chris Robertson of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY spoke about the band's upcoming EP, "Celebrate", which will be released digitally on March 6, 2026 via Mascot Records. The effort consists of six original tracks and an inspired cover of SIMPLE MINDS' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" featuring Tyler Connolly (THEORY OF A DEADMAN). Chris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We self-produced it. It was engineered by Jordan Westfall and late buddy who passed this December, actually, was an engineer on it as well, Mark Owens, who we greatly miss, who's a huge part of the BSC team. And then Jordan and I mixed it together. So we had a lot of fun with it, man. We did it all in a little studio. It's not big as nothing, but it sounds great."

Asked if not working with an outside producer is something they plan on continuing with the next full-length album, Chris said: "Oh, yeah. We've self-produced since the 'Kentucky' record. So we haven't worked with a producer since 2013 or '14. And it's nothing against producers. We worked for some of the best — we worked with Joe Barresi, Howard Benson, Bob Marlette, [BLACK STONE CHERRY drummer] John Fred's [Young] dad [Richard Young, a member of THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS] and David [Barrick] from the studio. Richard's a platinum selling, Grammy-winning artist. So we've had notable people producing our records every time we've done that.

"Man, I think we got to a point where we were, like, we know what we wanna sound like," Chris explained. "We can hear the difference between a good part and a bad part for our songs.

"It's always been the weirdest thing to me that a record label — and luckily, we don't have to worry about this; we've got a great relationship with Mascot — but in the early days, a record label would sign a band back in the day and then immediately wanna start changing stuff about the band, or start getting 'em with songwriters and this and that and the other," he added. "And I'm, like, I understand these guys are fantastic at their jobs, but if you sign the band, why not put out what they do first and then see what you need to do with it, see how it reacts? But we don't live in that world. Luckily, we put our first record out in '06 when record labels were still developing bands, so we were able to do our first record, see how it went, then go work with some other people. We recorded in Kentucky, Nashville, L.A., but being able to record in Kentucky and go home and get in your own bed at night's pretty badass. I ain't gonna lie."

This past December, Robertson was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station why he and his BLACK STONE CHERRY bandmates chose to release an EP this time around instead of a full-length record, Chris said:  "I think for us, man, it's like… We've gotten to a point as a society, in my opinion, where we want something new faster than we ever have. A new iPhone comes out every September. The new thing, it comes out — it's like once a year, there's new, there's new, there's new, there's new. And if you look at album cycles, an album cycle is typically like a two-year thing. You put out a record and you go tour for the next 18 months to two years. We don't live in this society anymore. And looking at it, a band can put out a record and then the fans want more new music six months later. And we were, like, 'You know what? We've got these songs right here ready to go. We believe in them as wholeheartedly as we do in an album. They tell a story. They paint a picture. They do the thing. Let's put it out and just see what the response is.'"

Chris continued: "We've been doing this now for 20 years. And in 20 years we've put out eight records, a couple of blues EPs, a few live records. We put out stuff as often [as], or more often than, most. But we just wanted to try something different this time, ultimately, to see how that kind of goes over with the way we all consume stuff now."

Noting that the music market is losing its space for full-length albums as young music consumers increasingly gravitate towards singles, Chris added: "It was a heartbreaking realization when I realized that I'm probably in the minority when it comes to the music listeners of people who will actually put on an album and just listen to the whole thing as it was intended to be played. We live in a society now where you can pull anything up on your phone, make your own playlist for any mood you're in. So it's different, man. But I grew up putting on vinyl records that my dad had, or cassettes. Cassettes, it wasn't easy to skip a song. It's easier to skip a song on vinyl than a cassette. You gotta sit there and work for it on a tape, man. And cassettes were the thing in the early '90s. CDs hadn't really taken off, at least at my household yet; we were still on the cassette world. So, dude, I just put on a tape and let it play a lot of times. But, dude, those cassettes sound better than vinyl or CDs, in my opinion. There's something about that tape, man. And then it gets worn in — I don't know. It gets a little fuzzier sounding, feels a little more like home when you put your headphones on."

"Celebrate" was produced by BLACK STONE CHERRY and recorded at High Street Studios in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

"Celebrate" track listing:

01. Celebrate
02. Neon Eyes
03. Caught Up In The Up Down
04. I'm Fine
05. Deep
06. What You're Made Of
07. Don't You Forget About Me (featuring THEORY OF A DEADMAN's Tyler Connolly)

In a separate interview with Terrie Carr of Barrett Media, Robertson stated about the material on "Celebrate": "We started writing this stuff, and for the last several releases, we've written just pretty much on the bus. Then we get in the studio and put it together the rest of the way. With this stuff, we decided we wanted to get together, not on the bus. So we started getting together at [guitarist] Ben's [Wells] house and just writing songs together. It was really refreshing to do it that way and not to be confined to the back of a bus. There is something different about the new stuff. I haven't been able to put my finger on it yet, but it just feels different. It feels like every time we make music, I kind of end up in the same scenario. I don't know how to describe it. It's different, but still sounds like us. There's just a different energy. I'm glad because it means we're not repeating ourselves over and over. I'm super excited for people to hear this stuff."

BLACK STONE CHERRY put out its latest album and eighth overall, "Screamin' At The Sky", in 2023. Earlier in 2025, the Kentucky rockers dropped "This Is Black Stone Cherry's RSD Album. The Band Really Likes It" for Record Store Day.

Last fall, BLACK STONE CHERRY completed a month-long "Celebrate" tour across the U.S., featuring support from THEM DIRTY ROSES and AYRON JONES.

BLACK STONE CHERRY is:

Chris Robertson - vocals, guitars
Ben Wells - guitars
John Fred Young - drums
Steve Jewell Jr. - bass